A number of homeless people were sectioned and taken into care under the Mental Health Act after refusing to go into emergency hostels last night.
Homeless charities have said at least 14 people slept rough in Dublin last night.
The Peter McVerry Trust has said staff were engaging with homeless people until 5.30am this morning.
They identified 21 people, six of whom were persuaded to access shelter.
Mental health orders were used to force some indoors, but Simon Communities spokesperson Niamh Randall from the Simon Community said that is never their first choice.
“This is always the option of the very, very last resort,” she said.
“I imagine in those situations it was looking at whether people were making informed choices and if they were in a position to actually be making good decisions about themselves.
“I think it would have been done of the basis of; there was a real fear.”
Our staff circled Dublin city until 5.30am. By which point they had engaged 21 rough sleepers, 7 of whom came into shelter (Inc 1 person who was accommodated in a Garda station) 14 continued to refuse shelter and stayed out.
— Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) March 2, 2018
